Norma Bibiano, center, holds a news conference with her attorney, left, in Decatur, Ga., on Thursday, July 25, 2024. Norma Bibiano son, Juan Ramirez Bibiano, an inmate at Telfair State Prison in Georgia, died of heart and lung failure after officers left him in an outdoor cell in the summer heat for five hours without water or ice, despite instructions from a warden to limit the amount of time inmates spend outdoors, a lawsuit filed by his family says (AP Photo/Charlotte Kramon)
The family of a 27-year-old Hispanic man who was incarcerated at Telfair State Prison has filed a lawsuit alleging guards left him to die after placing him in an outdoor “cage” for five hours without water, ice or shade.
At a news conference announcing the lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Corrections in Decatur on Thursday, Norma Bibiano said her son was loving, kind and very intelligent, and that she never expected to receive the message she got that he had died behind bars.
“I had always hoped he’d return home,” Bibiano said, speaking in Spanish. “I miss all his calls and messages, where he always told me, ‘I love you, mama. Take care of yourself. Don’t worry. I’m OK.'”
Records show Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano was serving a life sentence plus five years, with the possibility of parole, for shooting and killing another man during a dispute in 2014, when Ramirez was 18 years old.
But according to the lawsuit, for unknown reasons, guards placed Ramirez on an unshaded slab of concrete divided into seven 8-by-20-foot cages, each surrounded by fencing on all sides, at approximately 10 a.m. on July 20, 2023, following an appointment he had with a mental health provider.
Nurses found him naked, vomiting and in a pile of his own excrement. His internal temperature was later recorded at 107 degrees, the lawsuit states.
Ramirez allegedly died that evening from heart and lung failure, which were triggered by his prolonged exposure to the heat. He had a son and also served as a father figure for his partner’s son.
Juan Carlos Ramirez Bibiano poses for a family photo with his girlfriend, Leslie Pano Abrajan, and their two children. (Courtesy of the Bibiano family)
While the Georgia Department of Corrections claims Ramirez died of “natural causes,” his family’s attorneys say the guards were negligent and ignored directions from the warden to check on inmates, bring them water and ice, and limit their time outside.
“It’s extremely obvious that it’s natural for a human being or any living creature to die when left to bake in the sun,” attorney Suri Chadha Jimenez said.
Ramirez’s family is represented by the civil rights law firm Spears and Filipovits, with consultation from the Chadha Jimenez Law Firm. They are seeking a jury trial and compensatory damages for the full value of Ramirez’s life, plus funeral and burial expenses.
Attorney Jeff Filipovits said the lawsuit was filed in Telfair County Superior Court, and not federal court, because the Georgia Department of Corrections has remained tight-lipped about Ramirez’s case. The limited information they do have is based on the department’s initial investigative report and medical records from a contractor.
“This is the only way we have of even getting more information,” Filipovits said. “If we didn’t have this lawsuit, this family would have no answers.”
On Wednesday, the Georgia Department of Corrections did not respond to questions about the total number of people who have died while in its custody since 2023 or what it is doing to prevent them.
However, the lawsuit in Ramirez’s case is one of several that have been filed against the agency since September 2021, which is when a federal civil rights investigation into Georgia’s detention facilities was launched.
The U.S. Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment about where the investigation stands, but in a petition filed in federal court in 2022, it accused the Georgia Department of Corrections of denying investigators access to facilities and refusing to release relevant data.
“The absolute lawlessness inside of the prisons is a humanitarian crisis, and I don’t use those words lightly,” Filipovits said. “This is like nothing anyone would imagine. I think the only reason it’s gone under the radar is because people think it’s not going to happen to them, and that’s just not true.”
